Even the Jan. 2002 ACOG guidelines were rather wishy-washy on that one... they basically said that some women can get back to it immediately, and some should wait... no help at all, right?
As a general rule, you should listen very carefully to your body. If you suddenly have increased or very red bleeding... your body is telling you that you are doing too much too fast. If you feel more exhausted after exercising than before, then you probably would be better off taking a nap... be gentle with yourself for a month or two... the newborn stage passes so quickly, and you'll want to relish every moment!
With my first, I had a normal vaginal birth, and I worked out with Sheila up until the day before my due date. Aaron was born the day after my due date... all 9 lb. 2 oz. of him
I was out walking the halls the next day... walking (sloooowly) with him in teh Baby Bjorn 4 days later... and chomping at the bit to get back to exercise classes in 3-4 weeks. I had a lot of energy and I was ready to move. By 5 weeks postpartum I was jogging and able to do higher impact activities.
Number 2 was night and day different. I was teaching prenatal/postpartum group exercise classes and doing 40 min. of cardio and about the same in resistance on other days up until about 35 weeks... and I swam laps until 37 weeks... but then I was finding that, while I could still do a pretty good swimming workout, I'd get home and want to nap for 2 hours or more. I figured that was my body's way of saying "enough already!" Robby was born via emergency c-section at 39 weeks because he was in distress during labor (and, BTW, he was 9 lbs. 6 oz.). That really threw me for loop... because exercising too soon after c-section is not just unadvisable (you can cause adhesions)... it's just about impossible for at least the first month. It took me 2 weeks to be able to sit up normally! At around 5-6 weeks, the internal stitches are healed, and after that it is okay to exercise... I tried to take a long walk with the jog stroller at around 4 1/2 weeks, and just the walking kicked my butt... it was a weird sensation and very discouraging... but then when I got back to the gym a week and a half later, I felt great...
The challenges of motherhood are different for everyone. I was very lucky in that my 1st son was sleeping through the night when he was 2 weeks old. I obviously had a little extra energy to spend that a person who is up 3X a night nursing might not have. Just get in the mode of telling yourself that everything you do, even if it is a easier or shorter version of what your ideal workout, is good.
BTW, you also want to get your kegels back before you engage in high impact activities... they'll be quite stretched out after labor!
Susan
Healthy Moms Certified Perinatal Fitness Instructor
